Star Trek: Liberty - Episode 2: Caretaker, part II
by Kyizi
Summary: When Voyager is destroyed by the Caretaker's array, who will survive? (AU series, continuation of part I)
1. Part 01

Star Trek Liberty  
  
By Kyizi  
  
Episode 2: Caretaker, Part 2  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Disclaimer: Some of these characters do not belong to me, and neither does the universe in which this story is created. The story line that this fic will take and the new characters, however, do belong to me, so please, if you wish to use them, contact me and ask first.  
  
Please note that some of this comes directly from the transcripts and that those parts do not belong to me.  
  
Rating: If you can watch Voyager, then you can read this.  
  
Category: AU  
  
Distribution: Please email if you want it, I'll likely say yes.  
  
Feedback: Always :)  
  
Email address: kyizi@hotmail.com  
  
Notes/Summary: Although this episode will continue introducing you to the characters that will be a part of this universe, it is in this episode that the world becomes AU, therefore, I will be using the main character POV's as well.  
  
Sources: See Episode 1 (Mainly Delta Blues for Jim's wonderful episode reviews!)  
  
ERROR! Okay, we all make mistakes! I found a bit of an error in Ep 1. Chakotay wishes for a Betazoid to read Tuvok, well I forgot about Suder! Altered line to read, he wished for a Betazoid he could trust. (  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kerris sighed and ran a hand through her hair, closing her aching eyes as she did so. Today had been one hell of a mess and she was not prepared for round two. Her hand still ached a little, although Thomas insisted that she was making it up. It wasn't her fault he was a lousy physician, maybe if he'd actually finished med school her hand would be fully operational by now.  
  
She groaned and placed her head against the wall. She knew she was taking out her frustrations on Christopher and her only saving grace was that this time she was doing it inside her own head instead of yelling at him. It was bad enough when B'Elanna did it, even worse when he had them both at it.  
  
Standing up straight, she dropped her padd on the ground and sat down next to it, sliding her back down the wall. B'Elanna was missing. Usually that thought send pleasant little shivers down her spine, she occasionally wished she could chant, "Ding, dong the bitch is dead," and then she'd catch herself and feel instant remorse. It wasn't as if she hated the.no she hated her. At least she had the honesty to admit it. The two had never got along and she wasn't about to start pretending otherwise now. She did however hope that they found her and could get the hell out of the Delta Quadrant. Because, regardless of her feelings towards the woman, she was an amazing engineer, and with the situation they were in, she was what they needed.  
  
"Been a hell of a day, huh?"  
  
Smiling, she turned to look up at Antonio. "Oh, yeah,"  
  
He gave a little chuckle and sat down beside her. "We're approaching the debris field. Voyager's scanning the area and so are we but we're keeping in constant contact. There's an open comm. link, I've set it up to broadcast through the whole ship."  
  
Kerris nodded and laid her head back against the wall. "Chakotay still over there?"  
  
"Are you going to beat me up if I say yes?"  
  
"I still can't believe you left him with that traitor,"  
  
"Which one, Tom or Tuvok?" he asked with a smile.  
  
"Both," she sighed and turned to face him. "I might never have met Tom but I know he betrayed us, he betrayed the Maquis as a whole. And Tuvok? Well, I tried to warn everyone and now the Captain is over there with them both. So, yes I'm angry.but not at you, at him. He should be taking more precautions."  
  
"Chakotay dances to the beat of his own drum, Nye. You should know that by now. There was no way I could've talked him into letting me stay, or."  
  
"I didn't want you to stay! It's bad enough that he's over there, never mind you as well."  
  
"Aw, shucks, I think I'm touched," Antonio said mockingly, placing a hand to his heart dramatically.  
  
"If you don't watch out, you'll be more than touched, you'll be black and blue."  
  
He laughed and leaned his shoulder against hers. "I know what you mean, Nye, and I don't like it either. But there was no way I was talking him out of it. He's over there and all we can do is hope that he'll bring B'Elanna back safe and sound. And if he needs us, we're here for him." With that Antonio stood up and offered her a hand.  
  
"I know," Kerris sighed, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She smiled, shaking her head as Antonio winked at her and headed out the door, taking a moment before turning back to her work. Things would work out.they had to.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Chakotay sighed and rubbed his eyes, trying to forget that he hadn't slept in over two days, their 'missing time' not withstanding. As he headed for the bridge, he tried to ignore the fact that there were three security officers with him. He knew that, were the situation reversed, and Captain Janeway were on his ship, he would be taking the same precautions. Actually if she were on his ship, he had the feeling that he'd have to protect her more than anything.  
  
Thinking of his ship, he prayed it was still in one piece when he got back. Seska was more than a little annoyed when he'd refused to allow her to accompany him, and he knew that Kerris was likely to have a few words to say to him regarding Tuvok, he wasn't looking forward to seeing either woman too soon. The ship was already quite badly damaged and he knew that B'Elanna would be pissed if it were any worse when she returned. And she would return, he'd make sure of it.  
  
He stepped into the turbo lift with more than a little trepidation. The last time he had been in one, there had been a power cut and he had had to fend of Seska's advances for over two hours. He missed being with her; that much he was sure of, but at the same time, he knew it was for the best that he had called it off. She had been using their relationship to get what she wanted with the others on the ship, it was causing even more problems within the group and he was not about to let that happen. The only thing that kept them all together was their belief in the Maquis, but it was a fine strand that stopped a lot of them from killing each other at most times, and the way Seska had been acting, she was about to find that strand broken with more than one of the crew.  
  
There was a slight hiss as the doors opened before him and he nodded briskly to the man at the security panel. He walked towards the Captain's chair noting that his three 'friends' had remained at the turbo lift doors.  
  
"Ah, Mr. Chakotay,"  
  
"Please, Chakotay is fine,"  
  
The Captain nodded with a slight smile. "Were the parts suitable? Did you get everything you needed?"  
  
"Yes, on both accounts, thank you. I've transported them over to the Liberty, Kerris and my engineers should have made a start on things by now."  
  
"Good," Janeway smiled. "We've made contact with a ship, someone who thinks he may know where Ensign Kim and Torres are. Tuvok has shown him to quarters, he should be checking on him right about now."  
  
"What does he think he knows?" Chakotay asked, feeling the need to sit, but somewhat reluctant to do so.  
  
Janeway seemed to note his thoughts and indicated the seat next to her. "Apparently we're not the first ships pulled here. It seems that someone known as the Caretaker has been bringing people here for a couple of months now. He kidnaps a few members of the crew and leaves them with a race called the Ocampa, who live on the fifth planet of the system."  
  
"What happens to them?"  
  
Janeway shook her head, "He doesn't seem to know, but we're on route for the fifth planet at the moment. The Liberty is right beside us."  
  
Chakotay smiled, glad that he hadn't had to ask and glad that Janeway wanted to reassure him that they were in this together.for the moment at least. But he didn't want to think of that just now. His only priority was B'Elanna. He was going to get her back.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
B'Elanna groaned and rubbed her head for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. Things weren't going according to plan.not that she had one. So far all they had accomplished was to discover that they were underground, well, Starfleet had discovered it. She eyed the young man suspiciously for a moment and turned back to look at her surroundings. She wasn't sure she trusted the young Ensign, a few days ago he'd have been happy to hand her over the authorities, but as it was she was stuck with him as her only 'friend',  
  
Noticing that they were still being gawked at, B'Elanna tried to refrain from growling. She didn't like being the centre of attention, but she liked being on display even less. Turning to their guide she watched as some form of replicator dispensed food for them and frowned.  
  
"Does the Caretaker provide your meals as well?"  
  
"Yes," the man replied, "the Caretaker designed and built this city for us after the Warming began. The food processors provide nutritional supplements every 4.1 intervals." He smiled at her, "It's not the more exotic stuff the young folks crave these days, but it keeps you healthy."  
  
She exchanged a small look with Starfleet as they followed the man into a larger area. Looking up, she could see the sky, but she had to wonder if it was real or not. If it looked so great, then why the hell would they be living underground, why would the Caretaker want them to if he were so damn.caring?  
  
B'Elanna allowed her thoughts to wander, still listening to what was being said around her. She had to wonder how Chakotay was planning on finding her; he would be trying to find her, of that she had no doubt. She almost smiled at the thought, but refrained from doing so. Unless Kerris and Seska talked him out of it. She shook away those thoughts, as much as she hated Kerris, she knew the state if the ship, there was no way they were getting home any time soon without her help. It wasn't conceit, but for as much as they disliked each other, she and Kerris worked amazingly well together. They'd have the ship up and running in no time.if only they'd hurry up and find her. Maybe they could even save Starfleet here and earn themselves a reprieve.well it was a nice thought.  
  
The conversation again caught her attention. They weren't the only ones that had been brought here? She opened her mouth to ask where they were and how they'd escaped this hole in the ground when the man continued. No one had survived. That wasn't exactly a comforting thought. She stared down at her plate for a moment before turning to the young Ensign. He had a steely determination on his face and she nodded at him. They'd get out of this or they'd die trying.hopefully the former.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Celes read her padd.again. It didn't matter how many times she looked at the data; it simply wasn't possible. The frequency of the wave, the formation, the way it moved, nothing seemed to make sense. Or, at least, it didn't make sense to her. Nothing seemed to make sense to her. She still found it hard to believe that she had even passed the Academy.okay, she almost hadn't.  
  
She rubbed her eyes and started again. She was supposed to be an analyst but no matter how long she stared at it, she couldn't analyse any of it. It was her friends that had kept her afloat at the Academy, and she'd been thrilled when she and Billy had both been assigned to Voyager, perhaps he would have been able to stop her from looking like the fraud she felt like. If she had been good at anything she wouldn't have been there, but as it was she felt like a complete failure. Voyager was stuck at the back end of the Universe and she had nothing that could help her get them home.  
  
The door opened and she raised her head, awkwardly standing up as Ensign Wildman entered the room. She smiled nervously at the woman, wondering why she was being inspected; surely she couldn't have done anything wrong already.  
  
"At ease before you sprain something, Crewman." Ensign Wildman laughed.  
  
Celes smiled a little, feeling utterly embarrassed and picked her padd from the floor where it had fallen. "Can I help you?"  
  
"I'm just looking for something, don't mind me. I'm sure I must've lost it in here." Ensign Wildman began to search in the ground, making sure not to knock anything over.  
  
"Is it a bracelet?"  
  
"Yes! Have you seen it?" Ensign Wildman stood up, smacking her head on the worktop, knocking over Celes coffee. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"  
  
"It's okay," Celes pulled two of the padd's out of the spillage, squealing as they sparked and shocked her.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry, here let me look at it."  
  
"No, it's okay," Celes stepped away, keeping her hand curled up against her chest. "I'm fine. It was my fault for leaving the cup on the ledge next to them anyway," she laughed a little feebly and used her other hand to point at a drawer. "Your bracelet is in there."  
  
Ensign Wildman frowned before retrieving the bracelet, turning it over in her hands before putting it on. "My husband gave me it before we left Deep Space Nine," she explained before stepping towards Celes again. "Are you sure you wont let me look at it?"  
  
"I'm fine, honestly," Celes walked to her desk again, refusing to look Ensign Wildman in the eyes.  
  
"If you're sure," Wildman walked to the door, turning before she left. "I want you to at least promise me that you'll go to sick bay and let the EMH look at it if it's still hurting later on."  
  
Celes nodded and Wildman left. Looking down at her hand, she forced herself not to cry. She had already successfully managed to embarrass herself in front of one crewmember, the last thing she needed was for someone else to come in and find her in tears. Celes took a deep breath and stretched out her hand, turning back to her padd. Making sure it was not covered in coffee, she picked it up with her good hand and forced herself to read, she still hadn't figured anything out and now her hand was stinging. She sighed, her only hope that things wouldn't get any worse.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Janeway headed for the transporter, glancing sidelong at Chakotay. He was a little on the edgy side, and she had to wonder what it was about the conversation he had just had that had made him seem so uptight.  
  
"Everything all right on board your ship?" she asked, hoping she didn't come across as interfering.  
  
He smiled a little at her. "Just a few differences of opinion, nothing I can't handle."  
  
She nodded her head. "They don't trust me." She stated.  
  
He inclined his head, not answering either way and she left it at that. Given the circumstances, she couldn't really expect anything different, it was to be expected. Voyager had chased the Maquis into the Badlands and that was that. It was her mission to take them in so that they could be charged, she couldn't really expect them to roll out the red carpet for her now that they had no choice but to work together.  
  
Reaching the transporter bay, she noted that Neelix and Tuvok were already there and indicated to the transporter pods as Lt. Paris entered behind them. She turned to Ensign Forbes and checked that the water was ready to be transported on request before the five of them were transported to the planet's surface.  
  
It was as barren as the scans had said, but seeing it made it all the more real. That anyone had to survive this was disheartening, but she knew better than anyone that survival instincts were stronger than anyone could comprehend until they had experienced it for themselves. It was the same survival that ensured that she would find Ensign Kim and B'Elanna Torres; they were going to survive and she was going to get them home, whatever it took.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Tom scrunched up his eyes as the bright sunlight blurred his vision. Glancing around, he wasn't so sure he liked the look of the Ocampan home world, and if the people that were currently glaring at him were the Ocampans, he wasn't so sure he liked the look of them either.  
  
As Neelix approached the men - at least he assumed they were men, he had no idea what a good looking Ocampan female looked like - he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Neelix was walking towards the small camp and he resisted the urge to grab tap his badge and ask Voyager to beam him the hell out of there.  
  
The men, he now knew were Kazon-Olga, had spotted Neelix's approach. This wasn't going to go well, he had been in enough situations gone wrong to be able to spot the problems before they arose. And they were definitely about to arise.  
  
"Destroy them!"  
  
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he glanced sidelong at Captain Janeway, wondering what the woman would make of the situation. He'd overheard a lot of talk amongst the crew - overheard being the operative word; apart from Harry, no one was really all that interested in speaking to him - about the woman, and along with his own assessment, he was pretty sure she was strong headed. Janeway was watching the scene unravel before them, so he shifted his gaze to follow hers.  
  
He tapped his comm. and asked Ensign Forbes to send down the water, the wide-eyed, almost ravenous look in the Kazon-Olga's eyes not escaping his notice. These weren't people he wanted to mess with. He knew that from experience. He'd been in with the 'wrong' type for long enough to be able to spot them, and Harry was down here on this world with them. He had promised himself that he was going to make sure that Harry survived this. Not just because it would give him someone to talk to, but also because he wanted to repay the younger man's kindness.not something that he'd had the chance to do as of late.  
  
He listened as their new acquaintances explained that the Ocampa lived underground, a system of tunnels the only way in or out, but no one could use them safely. Frowning he spotted a beautiful young woman step out of the hut behind Neelix. She was badly beaten and Tom wondered if he had just found out what a good looking Ocampan female looked like. Whatever was going on, he had a bad feeling that things were about to get worse.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Dylan groaned as Tiera's fingers continued to drum on the edge of the consol. She'd spent the last hour working with both the Liberty and Voyager's sensor data. She was compiling a map reaching out as far as the ships could sense, hoping that they could use it to their advantage if they were actually stuck here. He hoped they weren't.  
  
He slumped down in his chair, intent on taking a five-minute break. He was fed up looking at the screens that insisted on telling him all of the things that were broken or destroyed. Kerris, Tonio, Seska and the other were making headway on most of them and there was no mistaking that the list had grown considerably shorter, especially since Voyager had supplied them with parts. However, the fact that Kerris and Seska had been at each other's throats ever since, really wasn't helping the progress of the repairs.  
  
"Hey, Rei, take a look at this."  
  
Opening his eyes, he glared at Tiera, hoping that she might go away, but she simply stared at him expectantly and he could help but be reminded of his old school teacher. The look didn't inspire confidence that he was in her good books so he slid over beside her.  
  
"What's the problem?"  
  
"Is it just me or are there strange reading being emitted from the array?"  
  
"I think we established this earlier, Naïve," at her look he smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I guess we're all a little tired. What did you find?"  
  
"Well, there's a pulse being sent to the planet, right?"  
  
"Right," he frowned, wondering why she was reiterating what both ships had already confirmed.  
  
"Well, with the information that Chakotay relayed a few moments ago, it's a pretty good guess to say that the signal might be getting sent to the Ocampa, underground. And we're assuming that that's where B'Elanna and this Starfleet Ensign are."  
  
"Right.I still have no idea where you're going with this. Does that make me stupid?"  
  
She laughed. "No, just tired. What I'm getting at is, if the Caretaker has a signal that can reach the Ocampa, then what if."  
  
"We piggybacked our own message onto it and that way we could reach Lana!"  
  
"Bingo," she smiled at him. "Think you can do it, Mr. Mastermind?"  
  
Rei smiled and winked. "I'm not nicknamed Wiz for nothing."  
  
Tiera frowned. "You're not nicknamed Wiz."  
  
"Yeah, well," he blushed a little. "It still sounded good."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Harry sighed, rolling his stiff neck and glanced at B'Elanna Torres. The woman was still filled with animosity towards him it seemed, but there were times when she would recognise when that they needed to work together. She was a puzzle, a beautiful, half Klingon puzzle, but a puzzle none the less. He couldn't figure out why she seemed so on edge. She seemed to be losing faith.  
  
"Look. I'm sure Captain Janeway is doing everything she can to find us," he said, almost groaning at his own words. Way to sound like a complete suck up, Harry.  
  
As if sensing his thoughts, the woman scoffed. "What makes you think any of them are still alive?"  
  
Harry frowned as she hissed, her neck giving her obvious pain. "Should I call for some help?" he asked and instantly regretted it. A soft voice behind them made him jump, he hadn't realised there was anyone there. The girl's presence put B'Elanna on instant attack and Harry felt sorry for the young Ocampan, but he certainly wasn't about to intervene, he'd seen enough of the Maquis wrath to do him a lifetime.  
  
Harry listened and talked to the young girl, his hopes rising with the information she was giving them and also because Torres seemed to be perking up at her words as well. There were tunnels; all they needed was the help to use them. They'd need tools and provisions; Harry's mind was working a mile a minute, they had to escape, there was no other chance for them.  
  
"Please," he asked the girl. "It's our only chance."  
  
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if weighing up the option of getting caught. As much as she seemed to disagree with the elders, as much as she knew she was very much a part of this renegade group, she also feared the Elders.  
  
"Listen, I know you're unsure, but this is our lives. If we escape we have a chance of living, everyone else that's been sent down here by the Caretaker has died. My ship can heal us, I know it can, but we can't get to it without your help.please?"  
  
He glanced at the woman, but she still made no reply. Turning his gaze a little, he exchanged a glance with B'Elanna. They needed this girl's help and they both knew it, there was only one problem. Would she help them?  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Damn it!"  
  
Tiera frowned as Dylan hit the consol again. He'd been trying for the last half hour to attach a message for B'Elanna to the signal from the array, but with no success. Actually, she corrected herself, he was completely successful in attaching the message, the problem was that the signal was nothing to do with communication and he was having no success in finding a way to alert B'Elanna that they were trying to contact her.  
  
"Hey, calm down, man, we can hear you in engineering."  
  
They both turned as Christopher entered the room. She smiled at him and he grinned, walking towards them and sitting on the consol between them. "Still no luck with the signal?"  
  
"No, I can't find a damn thing! There's no way to let her know what we're doing." Dylan sighed and Tiera exchanged a look with Christopher, but he shrugged. No one could think of anything.  
  
"Well.maybe we're going about this the wrong way."  
  
"What are you thinking, Naïve?"  
  
She smiled and winked, "You wanted a Wiz, maybe we need to think like Lana."  
  
"How?"  
  
She smiled at Christopher. "Okay, she's an engineer, everything she thinks about is on this ship.who would you say thinks most like her? Whether they get along or not, who would you say could think along the same lines as her?"  
  
Dylan and Christopher nodded. "Kerris."  
  
Tiera smiled and raised her eyebrows. "Exactly," she said. She tapped a button on the consol. "Kerris, would you come to the bridge?"  
  
"I'm busy!"  
  
Tiera rolled her eyes. "I don't care, we need you up here, and if you want B'Elanna back to give you a hand, then I think you should get up here."  
  
"Do I want her back? No. Do I want her help? Yes."  
  
"Can't have one without the other, Nye." Antonio's voice floated about in the background.  
  
Kerris' sigh echoed through the bridge. "I'll be right there."  
  
"Get off my console."  
  
Tiera resisted the urge to groan aloud as Christopher moved from Mikelo's console. She really hated that man. She moved her seat over and gestured for Christopher to sit but he waved off.  
  
"If Kerris is on her way up to help, I'd best get back down to engineering. We need all the work we can get done out of the way before we end up floating in space. And God only knows what that woman's done down there, anyway. She's a pilot not an engineer."  
  
"Kerris is coming back up here? Great." Mikelo said with mock enthusiasm as Christopher left the room, walking backwards as he exchanged a look with both her and Dylan. It was no secret that the three weren't particularly fond Mikelo, and he didn't bother hiding his dislike of them either.  
  
"Oomph! Watch where you're going, Thomas."  
  
"Ah, the cavalry has arrived." Dylan said smiling at the half Bajoran as she entered the room. She was currently glaring at Christopher's retreating back, so she wasn't really paying attention to the current occupants of the room.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Charming," Dylan muttered and turned around in his chair, tapping at a few buttons before continuing. "We're trying to attach a signal that B'Elanna will recognise onto the."  
  
".signal from the array. I know this, why am I needed?"  
  
"Well," Tiera intervened. As much fun as it was to watch Dylan get more and more frustrated with the woman - and Mikelo was having obvious fun watching it - she just wanted to get moving on it. "The signal isn't a communications signal. It's some kind of energy pulse, as if it's a supply of some kind. What we need is a way to get B'Elanna's attention."  
  
Kerris rolled her eyes and reached over Dylan's shoulder, quickly tapping a few buttons before turning to Tiera. "Get me access to her personal music files."  
  
"What?" Tiera asked, ignoring the rude manner in which the statement was spoken - she was more than used to it.  
  
"Just do it."  
  
Tiera shook her head and did as Kerris asked, sending the information to Dylan's console before continuing to watch the engineer. Kerris frowned for a moment before shaking her head, as realisation seemed to hit. She pressed a few more buttons and then stood back, a small smile on her face.  
  
"There," she said and nodded her head before turning and leaving the room.  
  
After a few moments of silence, Dylan frowned and turned to Tiera. "What did she just do?"  
  
"I have no idea," she tapped at her console. "But whatever it was, it just made a jumpstart on the increase of the pulses. They're point-eight seconds apart now."  
  
"I thought they were increasing anyway?" Mikelo said, forgetting that he hated the two.  
  
"They were," Tiera nodded. "But whatever she's done helped them along a little. Lets just hope Voyager doesn't suspect we had something to do with it."  
  
"Why?" Mikelo scoffed. "They're after us anyway, what difference will it make if we all blow up a little sooner than expected?"  
  
"We don't know that the pulses will cause an explosion." Dylan said, still trying to analyse what Kerris had done, but the commands made no sense to him.  
  
Tiera nodded her agreement. "Besides, we don't know what's going to happen here. We may end up needing Voyager's help." At this there was a loud laugh at the door and they all turned to see Seska leaning against the frame.  
  
"You don't know what's going to happen here, Seska. As much as you hate Starfleet, you know we might need them."  
  
"Then may the Prophets help us all,"  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
B'Elanna took a deep breath. The climb seemed never-ending as they tried to make their way to the surface. Her neck was really beginning to get sore again, despite what the Ocampan had given her, but she wasn't about to admit that to Starfleet. When he'd suggested they rest - or rather had sat down and refused to move any further, she'd protested, but she couldn't help but be grateful for the small respite it had given her pain-wise.  
  
She found herself conversing easily with the young man, but she wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing. They were in this together for the moment, but he was a rookie. This was his first mission and he was trying to make a good impression on a gung ho Captain, there was no way she trusted him not to turn her in the moment he got the chance. She wasn't sure whether his loyalties lay with his own naiveté and ideals, or with Starfleet's rulebook. And until she was, her suspicion stood.  
  
"Listen," she said, her ears picking up on something that had been annoying her for the last ten minutes or so. "They're getting faster."  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
They started to move again, and B'Elanna tried to keep her mind on where she was going, but all she could hear were the pulses, they were steady, but there was something underneath them. A small sound, static or something, but she couldn't make it out; it sounded so familiar to her.brushing aside her thoughts, she continued the climb. If no one was coming for them, then they were going to have to get out themselves.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"They've stopped,"  
  
Mikelo's voice caught her attention and Tiera blinked her eyes open. She'd been taking a few minutes rest but she was now fully alert.  
  
"What happened?" she asked, running her fingers over the controls.  
  
"Gee, why don't I just go ask the nice little man with the banjo, I'm sure he'll tell us."  
  
"Why don't you ask him if he left your anal probe in? 'Cause someone's sure as hell got something up his ass,"  
  
Tiera tried not to snigger, but Dylan's snort of laughter caught her off guard and she did. She turned as Kerris entered the room, sending the woman a nod of praise for her comeback. She'd known the woman for along time and she knew as well as anyone that you didn't want to be on the other side of an argument with her, but listening to her telling Mikelo what they all thought of him was enough entertainment to last a week.  
  
"Is there anything on the sensors?" she asked, glaring at Mikelo until he relinquished the pilot's console for her. The man muttered a few choice words before moving to the back of the room, before finally opting to just leave.  
  
"Nothing. They just stopped. Wait, the array's moving."  
  
"What's it doing?" Dylan asked, looking at the view screen.  
  
"Hey guys, what's going on up there?" Antonio's voice came over the comm.  
  
"I have no idea," Tiera said slowly. "But I have a bad feeling that we're about to find out."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
End Part  
  
Okay, I've decided to post this in 2 parts, like I did with Part 1 of Caretaker. I have written all of the episode, so don't worry! I'll post the second part soon. When Episode 2 is up and posted, I'm hoping there'll be enough interest that some of you will want to write future episodes. If anyone's interested in writing, sharing ideas etc. then I've started a Yahoo! Group  
  
To join the Liberty Yahoo! Group, you can subscribe at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/star_trek_liberty  
  
I'll also post a character list at the end of this episode, and later, will update the files section in my group so that you can learn more about the new characters.  
  
Feedback is a wonderful gift, please give generously :) 


	2. Part 02

Star Trek Liberty  
  
By Kyizi  
  
Episode 2: Caretaker, Part 2  
  
Continued.  
  
(For disclaimer etc, see previous part)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Anna ran down the hallway, she wasn't sure what was going on, but then again, she hadn't been sure since the moment she had first stepped onto the ship. She hadn't been sure about her career choices being correct, but if she made it out of this alive, she was glad she hadn't decided to be an engineer, and if she had? Well, she'd be changing her mind. Everything was so different here, real life situations were impossible to prepare for, but there was one thing she was sure about, and that was the feelings she was getting.  
  
Stepping into the turbo lift, she waited until it began to make its way to the bridge before beginning to pace. She had to let the Captain know that she could sense this Caretaker.she had to let them know that-  
  
"No!" her eyes widened as the lift stopped. She wasn't on the bridge, in fact she wasn't on any level.the lift wasn't moving, and the Captain had no idea what she was in for.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Typical," Torres muttered to herself. She glared at Paris, but he didn't seem to be paying any attention to her. It wasn't until the array had stopped transmitting the pulses that she had recognised what she was hearing.  
  
Someone, likely Kerris, had been in her personal files and taken her favourite piece of music.well, her father's favourite piece of music, she'd had no idea who the "Rat Pack" were when she was a child, only that her father loved them. And since he'd left, she'd made no attempt to find out any more. But she had kept one of her father's favourites on file. Kerris had obviously patched the rhythm through the signal so that "Come Fly With Me" was playing beneath the regular pulse.  
  
She shook her head, making a mental note to personally skin Kerris for going through her personal files when they made it back and continued to climb. It had been a good idea.but there was no way in hell that she was telling Kerris that.  
  
Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't realised that they'd reached the surface until people began to disappear in front of her. She reached her hand through the gap and pulled herself out, ignoring the offers of help. The pain was getting worse, but there was no way she was showing weakness, especially in front of a traitor like Tom Paris.  
  
"Get down!"  
  
Instincts taking over, she threw herself to the ground at Paris' yell. A large explosion rocked the ground beneath them and she sat up quickly. Chakotay! He was down there. He'd come to save her and now she had to return the favour. Without even realising what had been happening, she noted that Paris was nodding at the small alien with the strange beard. He removed the Starfleet comm. badge from the man and handed it to the Ocampan girl that had come with them.  
  
"Make that three to beam up."  
  
Her eyes widened but before she could protest, she was on Voyager's transporter pad, swearing enough to make her mother proud.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Chakotay grimaced as the ground shook again. His broken leg was aching and he knew there was no way he was making it back. He was vaguely aware of Paris and Neelix joining them, but it wasn't until Paris reached down to help him that he realised what was happening.  
  
"Get out of here Paris, before the whole thing comes down!"  
  
"I intend to. As soon as I get you up."  
  
That did it, the man was insane. Traitor or not, it was against his religion to wish anyone dead.including himself. "You get on those stairs, they'll collapse! We'll both die!"  
  
"Yeah? But on the other hand, if I save your butt, your life belongs to me. Isn't that some kind of Indian custom?"  
  
Chakotay narrowed his eyes a little. "Wrong tribe," he said, hoping to make the man leave him. He didn't want anyone's life on his hands.  
  
"I don't believe you. You'd rather die than let me be the one to rescue you?"  
  
Chakotay almost sighed. Tom Paris wasn't leaving him. He didn't like it, not just because of who Tom was, but because it brought questions of the man's true character to light and it made him wonder about the past. But it really wasn't the time to think about the past, the past was done, and Tom Paris was a traitor.  
  
"Fine," he said, making sure that Paris realised he wasn't happy about it. "Be a fool. If I have to die, at least I'll have the pleasure of watching you go with me."  
  
"Isn't there some kind of Indian trick where you can turn yourself into a bird and fly us out of here?"  
  
Chakotay almost cracked a smile, if only. "You're too heavy,"  
  
He groaned as the bone in his leg shifted. The world was falling apart around him, Tom Paris was his only company and he couldn't run away. He was in hell, he had to be.  
  
They made their way towards the surface, the others long gone. He could sense something was about to happen.something wasn't going to go right and suddenly the stairs gave way.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"There are two other ships out there." Tiera said, instantly plotting escape courses should they be required and feeding them into the navigational systems.  
  
"Voyager's sending us a communiqué. They're the Kazon-Olga. Oh and as an aside note, they have B'Elanna back. Gee, got there priorities right, don't they?"  
  
"Are Chakotay and B'Elanna heading back over?" Kerris asked, her eyes scanning the routes that Naïve was entering into the computer.  
  
"Okay, as another aside, they don't have Chakotay,"  
  
"What?" both women turned to him and he held his hands up.  
  
"Don't blame me!" he said, turning back to his screen. "I'm just the messenger. Oh, no, wait, they got him."  
  
"I shoot messengers, they often know more than they need to."  
  
Dylan frowned. "Kerris, you shoot everything."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Captain Janeway and our old 'friend' Tuvok are beaming aboard the array,"  
  
"I think you spend way too much time with Kerris, man, you're starting to adopt her permanent state of sarcasm,"  
  
Antonio grinned. "Come on Chris, you're just jealous."  
  
"Yes, because I want to spend time with someone who would sooner castrate me than talk to me."  
  
Antonio laughed and picked up the hydro-spanner, moving further into the Jeffries tube he and Thomas were currently working on. "Well, maybe if you didn't piss her off so much."  
  
"It's the Cardassian blood, I'm telling you it mixes bad with Bajoran."  
  
"Yeah, I think she knows that," Antonio said softly.  
  
"Sorry, man, didn't mean to bring it up."  
  
"Don't apologise to me, just take my advice and refrain from saying anything to Kerris, you might just end up on the wrong end of a castration after all.and that'd only be for starters."  
  
"Tolaris, what's your location?"  
  
"Thomas and I are on working on the engines, Captain, good to have you back. Hope you have our friendly little Klingon friend with you."  
  
"Go to hell, Tolaris."  
  
"Nice to hear your voice again, too, B'Elanna." Antonio smirked.  
  
Thomas shook his head and smiled. "Hey, Torres, you plannin' on getting down here and givin' us a hand?"  
  
"On my way, although given that Kerris will likely destroy my engines the minute I fix them."  
  
"Fix them properly this time and maybe I won't need break them to save all our necks."  
  
"Now, now children." Tiera's voice joined in the conversation. "I think we need to get some work done."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Thomas shook his head. "Can't you feel the love, Naïve?"  
  
"G'Night John Boy." There was silence and Thomas gave him a questioning look. Antonio shrugged. "What?"  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Chakotay smiled as he took the seat next to Kerris. The woman nodded her head and turned back to the controls, moving the ship next to Voyager as more ships joined their Kazon 'friends'.  
  
"I think there's trouble brewing in paradise, that thing's huge," Tiera said as she turned to greet him. "Good to have you back, Chakotay, and I think the guys are glad you brought their Chief back to them, I don't think the prophets even know what Kerris did to the engines while we were away."  
  
"Look, I am an engineer as well you know and I am sitting right here."  
  
Chakotay laughed. "We know, we know, but I don't think the crew will ever let you forget the time you almost blew us up."  
  
"Hey, if B'Elanna hadn't changed the."  
  
"They're firing."  
  
Instantly the crew was on alert. They all jumped to their feet moving to the systems they knew were still in need of repair. A few moments later, B'Elanna joined them. She went instantly to the front of the ship and sat next to Chakotay.  
  
"The engines are pretty much done. We've only got a few minor systems to repair but nothing life threatening." Chakotay nodded and she turned to the view screen. "What's going on?"  
  
"Their weapons array has been hit. They're in trouble."  
  
"Neither of us has enough fire power to stop that ship." B'Elanna stated, and he wished she hadn't. He knew that already, but having it said, certainly didn't make him feel any better. They were in a terrible predicament and he had to find a conclusion, the only problem was, he had already found one, he was just reluctant to do it.  
  
He took a deep breath and began to run his fingers over the console, making trying to find out what was the best way to go about it. "I'm setting a collision course but the guidance system is disabled. I'll have to pilot the ship manually. Get the crew ready to beam to Voyager. And drop shield for transport."  
  
Torres seemed reluctant, but nodded. He turned on the communications system and opened a link to Voyager. "Paris, my crew's coming over. Tell one of your crackerjack transporter Chiefs to keep a lock on me. I'm gonna try and."  
  
"Wait!"  
  
"Oh my God." Chakotay's eyes widened as half of Voyager broke apart before their very eyes.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Aeva ran through the hallway, a small group of engineers following her. She had to get to main engineering and find out what the hell was going on. There was no internal communication, everything was gone and there was no one to tell her what to do. Decks six through nine were gone and she had no idea what was left of the Primary Hull.  
  
"Help!"  
  
She stopped, causing the woman behind her to squeal. There was a lot of noise around them, but she could definitely hear something. They were near main engineering now and she wanted nothing more than to run the remainder of the way and help but she had to help.  
  
"I think it's coming from the turbo lift,"  
  
She turned and nodded at the woman she vaguely remembered as Celes. "It broke down about an hour ago. Surely they sent someone to fix it by now."  
  
"An hour ago?" The man behind her shook his head. "Man, I'd be freaking out if I was in there for an hour."  
  
Will someone please help me!  
  
"Okay, what the hell was that?" Aeva stood back a little, unsure where the phantom voice had come from.  
  
"I have no idea, but I do know that there's someone in there, I can hear the banging."  
  
"You're right," Aeva nodded and the group headed for the lift shaft.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"What are our options?"  
  
"Sorry, Captain, but I don't think we have any,"  
  
Janeway squared her shoulders and stepped to the centre of the bridge. "I think it's a little early to be writing us all off so soon Mr. Paris."  
  
"Sorry, Captain."  
  
Janeway nodded and stumbled a little as another blast rocked the ship. "Harry, I need you working on communication. I want to be able to talk to Chakotay as soon as possible."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
  
"Tuvok, what's our status?"  
  
"Decks three through six have been destroyed."  
  
"Deck six? So that means we have no escape pods," Janeway said, closing her eyes briefly. "Go on, what about the Engineering Hull?"  
  
"We have lost decks six to nine in the second explosion."  
  
Janeway nodded. "Okay," she took a moment, before straightening up and turned to her bridge crew. "Ensign Kim, how's our communication?"  
  
"I've nearly.got it!"  
  
"Open a channel,"  
  
When Ensign Kim nodded, Janeway turned to the screen where a fuzzy image of Chakotay greeted her. "Chakotay, are your transporters operational."  
  
"Yes. What can we do?"  
  
"I think you know," Janeway said and the fuzzy image nodded. "I guess we think alike regardless of being on the wrong sides."  
  
"I guess we do," he paused for a moment. "You realise that we can't fit every."  
  
"I do. Just do whatever you can. Janeway out." The image blinked off and they were greeted instead with the looming ship that would be their destruction.  
  
"I don't think I want to know, Captain, but do you want me to set course for the array?"  
  
Janeway smiled weakly. "Yes, Mr. Paris, set course for the array."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"You have got to be kidding me!"  
  
Seska's voice was irritating enough, but at that precise moment in time, Kerris could really do without it. "Would you please go screech somewhere else and let us do our jobs?"  
  
"They were sent to capture us and now you want to save them?"  
  
"Seska! Now is not the time!"  
  
Chakotay's voice shocked them all. The usually calm man had a way of creating silence whenever that calm disappeared, even for a split second. After a pause, Seska glared at him and stalked off, leaving Kerris to sigh in relief.  
  
"Tiera, did you say you had the guidance system on line?"  
  
"It never went off. Okay, it did initially, but it was fixed while you were away, I just turned it off to save energy while we didn't need it. In case you didn't notice, we're not exactly doing all that well, power wise."  
  
"I had noticed, thank you, Naïve." Chakotay said, leaning over her shoulder. "You've got us all ready to go?"  
  
"Ready as we'll ever be,"  
  
"That inspires confidence. Kerris, you ready to fly us out of here?"  
  
"We'll be gone as soon as you give the word,"  
  
Chakotay nodded and opened up a ship wide communiqué. "Okay, we're ready to go. Are the transporters ready yet, B'Elanna?"  
  
"Almost, give me two more.right they're ready."  
  
"Start getting people over here, now. I need everyone helping. This isn't a normal rescue. The people over there know their way around the inside of a ship. I want them all helping. If they're engineers, then I want them helping to get us out of here, if they can help, they will. Got it?"  
  
There was a general consensus and Chakotay turned back to the screen. All he could do now was wait.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Janeway sat in her chair, watching as her ship collapsed around her, knowing that what was left of her crew and supplies was currently being beamed aboard the Liberty. Voyager was her ship, it was her first command.perhaps her only command and now it was over. She had failed. She had failed herself and her crew.  
  
The ship rocked as another shot hit the hull. She turned to the console to her left and began to start the reaction that would send the warp core into overload, the command that should destroy the array.the command that would end her first mission, and Voyager's last.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Kerris, get ready, we're almost."  
  
"I have eyes! I can see where we are and where we're almost. Shit!"  
  
The ship rocked as a minor explosion turned them into a roll. After a moment, she steadied them and continued to shadow Voyager until the last possible minute.  
  
"Think you can try to leave the ship in tact up there?"  
  
"B'Elanna this is not the time!" Chakotay answered, although he was well aware that B'Elanna's comment had more than likely annoyed Kerris enough to make sure she'd get them out of this, if only so that she could get back at B'Elanna.  
  
"Okay, now!"  
  
Chakotay watched as the view screen showed the array shooting out of its peripheral vision and held his breath, watching as the sensors showed the Kazon were following them.  
  
Suddenly there was an almighty explosion and the ship rocked violently throwing him towards the console and then everything went black.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Everyone was moving; the ship was working like a colony of ants as everyone scurried about, making sure that their jobs were done. No one was willing to think of what they had lost.of who they had lost.  
  
The explosion of the array had sent them hurtling through the Delta quadrant, leaving behind the Kazon and, unfortunately causing them to lose more of their own.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Chakotay looked up, wincing at the pain in his neck. There was another knock at the door and he sighed.  
  
"Come in,"  
  
After a moment, Captain Janeway entered, her hair a mess and her uniform not much better. He tried to smile at her, but it came out as more of a wince. There was nothing he could do or say that would make her feel any better about what had happened, so he didn't even bother trying.  
  
"Take a seat," he said, indicating the space next to him on his couch. "It's not much, but it's all we got."  
  
"It's fine,"  
  
There was a moment of silence as Janeway settled herself, although it continued for longer than was necessary, neither one wanting to break the silence for it seemed a lot more comfortable than what they had to discuss.  
  
"Well."  
  
Chakotay nodded. "Well," he paused and took a deep breath. "I think that perhaps we need to talk."  
  
Janeway nodded. "I think we do."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Chakotay looked at his crew.at their crew.all twenty-one of them.  
  
"This won't be easy."  
  
"What won't? The fact that we're stuck in the middle of nowhere? The fact that."  
  
"Seska, that's enough," although he spoke softly, no one present could miss the command that was there. He turned back to look at them all. "This isn't going to be easy, there are only twenty-three of us left; twenty-three out of about two hundred. We lost a lot of good people today, a lot of good friends.  
  
"But we won't give up. We've all left something, or someone back in the Alpha Quadrant. Whether it's a family, a home or just memories, we all have something we want to go back to. And we will."  
  
"What?" Mikelo stood up, his look incredulous. "Are you serious? You want us to risk life and limb to spend the next hundred years or so trying to get back to a life where they," he indicated the Starfleet crew that was sectioned off. "Can put us in jail? I don't think so, I don't care!"  
  
"That's enough, Don,"  
  
"Look, I don't presume to know you,"  
  
"No, don't," Mikelo spat out, making his obvious distrust and hatred for the Starfleet Captain known.  
  
"But are you trying to tell me that you don't have someone you want to go back home to? Who were you fighting in the Maquis for?"  
  
Mikelo went silent and sat down. There was another uncomfortable silence and Chakotay turned to Janeway and nodded, allowing her to continue.  
  
"I lost someone very dear to me today. I lost one of the best friends I ever had." She paused for a moment, not allowing the tears for her friend to overpower her. "But I will not allow Tuvok's death to be in vain. He died fighting today. Everyone we lost died fighting. Don't you think they want their families to know that? Don't you think we owe it to them to let their families know that?"  
  
"Yes,"  
  
The soft-spoken voice caused everyone to turn and face the girl. She didn't look old enough to be out of school let alone lost in the middle of nowhere thousands of light years from home.  
  
Janeway nodded to the cadet and turned to look at what was left of her previous crew. She had ten surviving members out of over a hundred and fifty; only fifteen percent of her crew had survived and she owed it to the other eighty five percent to make it home.  
  
Chakotay's voice interrupted her reverie. "We will make this work. But if we want to make it home, we have to work together. We started off as two crews and now we have to function as one. There will be no Starfleet and no Maquis."  
  
At this, Janeway felt her crew's eyes on her, as if they were finally noticing that she was no longer in her uniform. She nodded to them and turned back to Chakotay, giving him her full attention.  
  
"However, that does not mean that we can do whatever we want. We will abide by a command structure. This is my ship, and my crew know it best, but that does not mean that Voyager's crew are in any way less important. Engineering will run under B'Elanna's orders, the ship under mine. But not mine alone. Captain Janeway will be my second in command."  
  
Chakotay ignored Seska's outburst and turned to Kerris, Tolaris and Torres, waiting for their reaction. Torres sent a distrusting look to Janeway, but nodded. Antonio also nodded and Kerris shrugged.  
  
"As long as I get to drive the ship, I don't care."  
  
Chakotay smiled. "You will, just remember to leave it in one piece for Mikelo and Paris as well."  
  
Not waiting to hear any reaction about what Kerris thought of letting Paris drive 'her' ship, he turned back to the others. "Kes, Neelix, you're welcome to join us for as long as you like, but if you want, we can drop you off anywhere."  
  
The two smiled and Neelix replied. "We've decided to stay for a little while, if you don't mind, Chakotay."  
  
"The more the merrier,"  
  
With a nod, he dismissed them all, allowing them time to digest what he had just said, allowing them time to grieve. He sighed and turned to Janeway, indicating his quarters, letting her know he wanted to chat. They had discussed a little earlier, but they now needed to think about the day to day running. They had to think of their survival.and right at that moment, he was thinking of his own as Seska headed straight for him.  
  
"Captain Janeway."  
  
"I think the 'Captain' is a little redundant now, Chakotay," Janeway said, smiling slightly.  
  
"Okay, what?"  
  
"Kathryn,"  
  
"Okay, Kathryn, I think we need to discuss our crew before they dismantle the ship,"  
  
Janeway nodded and entered his quarters, well aware of the looks that young Bajoran, Seska, was sending her way. She didn't know the woman, but already disliked her, but she would have to learn to live with it. It was a small ship and the last thing she needed was an internal war going on.  
  
She felt uncomfortable, almost as if she had been demoted. She wasn't the Captain anymore, she was.she didn't know what she was. She wasn't sure of anything about their new situation, but she was sure of one thing. They were getting this crew home.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
END EPISODE 2  
  
Okay, that's it! I know I haven't made it obvious who's survived and who hasn't but there was no way for me to do that without a list, and that just wouldn't work within the story. So what I've done is made up a character list, which is attached at the end.  
  
WRITERS: Feel like writing an episode of Liberty? Then email me and I'll explain exactly what I'm doing with the series! I'd love to have other people get involved, so don't hesitate to email me at kyizi@yahoo.com  
  
COMMENTS/FEEDBACK: Always love to hear from people! Let me know what characters you like/dislike etc. What did you think of the story? Drop me a line!  
  
If anyone's interested in writing, sharing ideas etc. on a more permanent basis, then I've started a Yahoo! Group  
  
To join the Liberty Yahoo! Group, you can subscribe at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/star_trek_liberty  
  
Star Trek: Liberty  
  
The Crew  
  
* = original character  
  
  
  
Maquis  
  
Chakotay (Human)  
  
B'Elanna Torres (Klingon/Human)  
  
Seska (Bajoran (Cardassian))  
  
Lon Suder (Betazoid)  
  
Chell (Bolian)  
  
*Kerris Nye (Bajoran/Cardassian)  
  
*Antonio Tolaris (Human)  
  
*Christopher Thomas (Human)  
  
*Dylan Rei (Bajoran)  
  
*Tiera Naïve (Bajoran)  
  
*Mikelo Don (Bajoran)  
  
  
  
  
  
Star Fleet  
  
Kathryn Janeway (Human)  
  
Tom Paris (Human)  
  
Harry Kim (Human)  
  
Joe Carey (Human)  
  
Vorik (Vulcan)  
  
Celes Tal (Human)  
  
Lyndsey Ballard (Human)  
  
Samantha Wildman (Human)  
  
*Anna Faye (Betazoid)  
  
*Aeva Zain (Trill)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Other  
  
Kes (Ocampan)  
  
Neelix (Talaxian) 


End file.
